New Research Finds Nearly 83% of RPM and eCOA Healthcare Companies Need an End-to-end Mobile Management Solution to Bring Connected Devices to Market

Healthcare IoT Innovation Hampered by Costly, Lengthy Processes for Developing and Deploying Products

SEATTLE – March 16, 2022 – Mason, innovator of the only fully managed infrastructure for developing and delivering dedicated smart devices, today announced results from a recent research study about the current processes, challenges and opportunities for bringing an IoT product for remote patient management (RPM) and electronic clinical outcome assessments (eCOA) to market. Findings from more than 500 U.S.-based RPM and eCOA decision-makers at small, mid-market and large enterprises reveal that without an end-to-end mobile management solution to deploy and develop devices—the preference for most decision-makers—RPM and eCOA healthcare companies have to rely on a long, laborious and costly process that requires multiple vendors to bring their connected smart devices to market.

Findings also show that many organizations face significant barriers to entry when building product-centered hardware, including high costs and issues related to developing, sourcing and deploying customizable hardware. 

“Rising demand for telehealth and remote patient monitoring services are signaling that consumers want more control over their own health and wellness journeys. However, what’s blocking innovation in this sector is the inability to collect real-time data given limited options for connected healthcare device solutions,” said Nancy Xiao, CEO of Mason. “Being able to deliver a telehealth or patient monitoring experience onto a dedicated device is critical for collecting accurate, real-time data and to be able to quickly connect with caregivers.”

The Future of Connected Smart Device Development and Deployment is a Flexible, End-to-end Mobile Management Solution

There’s a clear market need for a comprehensive set of tools for any business to be able to quickly and easily build their own mobile device ecosystem and products. If price or time to set up were not a factor, 82.9% of RPM and eCOA decision-makers said they’d prefer to use an end-to-end mobile management solution to bring their connected devices to market. These RPM and eCOA decision-makers rely on a combination of services for hardware procurement, handling device development, connectivity, kitting, provisioning, and ongoing device fleet maintenance to deliver their connected product or service to users or customers.

A majority of respondents (77.2%) said control over device and application configurations for RPM and eCOA are top priorities for their organization. However, existing consumer devices only offer limited control over features and capabilities. Finding enterprise hardware that is flexible, meets the needs of various use cases and enables agile development practices, while providing full control and data-based insights, is difficult. When asked just how much control their organization has, 37.6% of respondents said they have limited or little to no control over their device and application configurations.

“Current consumer and MDM tools simply don’t provide the level of control needed to collect sensor data and provide real-time insights to caregivers. Full access to the entire integrated hardware and software experience is needed for connected health solutions,” noted Xiao. “These solutions have the potential to improve patient outcomes, minimize errors and spur innovation in healthcare. An end-to-end mobile management solution can provide significant value by streamlining the process to build, deploy and scale connected smart products, ultimately creating better healthcare journeys.”

Current Approaches for Launching IoT Products Require Numerous Vendors, a Logistical Roadblock that Slows Time-to-market

Regardless of their current processes, organizations have to rely on multiple vendors to bring their connected smart devices into the hands of end patients and caregivers. Over two-thirds (68.5%) of RPM and eCOA decision-makers said their organization relies on a combination of services for handling device development, hardware procurement, connectivity, kitting, provisioning and ongoing device fleet maintenance to deliver their connected product or service to end users. Of these respondents 53.2% said they use three to four different vendors. 

Using a combination of services to develop and deploy their smart device is time-consuming and prevents organizations from keeping up with demand and making a timely impact with their innovations. Over half (52.2%) of respondents said it took their organization 12 to more than 24 months to go to market with their product.

“When it comes to responding to healthcare priorities including the COVID-19 pandemic and telehealth, speed is paramount,” continued Xiao. “This research shows that using multiple vendors doesn’t allow innovators to keep up with the rapid, widespread adoption of RPM and eCOA. Without a faster, cost-effective way to build connected devices and go to market quickly, healthcare innovation can be stunted. To enable more entrepreneurs to create the next IoT products for these use cases, access to smart device development needs to be democratized.”

Finding the Right Enterprise Hardware is a High-cost and Resource-intensive Process

Choosing a hardware solution for RPM and eCOA use cases is notoriously difficult, expensive and slow. Regardless of how organizations develop and deploy their smart device, the process is costly and requires a considerable amount of resources to create and maintain. Decision-makers cited the top three biggest pain points organizations face when developing and deploying their connected devices/services to be:

• High cost to develop and deploy (50.1%)
• Issues with commercial end-user devices (such as Apple, Google, etc.) / inability to source customizable hardware devices / issues sourcing hardware devices (31.5%)
• Issues deploying the hardware and software to users in the field (28.2%)

When asked what percentage of their organization’s resources are dedicated to creating and maintaining connected devices, nearly half of respondents (45.9%) said that they use 10-30% of their organization’s resources. Almost a third (31.7%) said 30-50% of their organization’s resources are dedicated to creating and maintaining connected devices.

“Patients and caregivers should have access to real-time, regular metrics on their health to enable better patient outcomes. These metrics and direct patient engagement are the keys to unlocking better preventative care and improved long-term health journeys,” said Xiao. “However, it takes several months to get hardware-based products to market, if at all. In fact, 75% of all IoT projects fail because so many innovators are challenged with execution and speed to market. Telehealth and RPM companies at the forefront of healthcare innovation should have access to the best tools and devices to support modern healthcare demands.”

To view more detailed results of the survey and gauge your organization’s preparedness for bringing connected devices for RPM and eCOA to market, take the assessment here.

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About Mason

Mason is the fastest way to take smart devices from idea to end user. Whether building a single-use device from scratch or scaling a line of smart products, with Mason it’s faster and less costly to build, deploy and scale. Digital transformation is a modern requirement but operating a hardware-dependent initiative is hard – thousands of hours and millions of dollars are at stake. The Mason Smart Device Platform is the only fully managed infrastructure for developing and delivering dedicated devices. It offers flexible usage-based pricing for fleets of devices and manages the underlying complexity of all associated backend services, making software delivery on a smart product line—whether it’s a tablet, wearable or new form factor—as simple as delivering software in the cloud. This frees innovators to focus on what matters: application development, feature specification and UX. Granular access to add, remove or lock down capabilities makes it possible for highly customized products to be built as envisioned. Mason offloads hardware investment risks and logistics, including inventory procurement, warehousing and supply chain management. With options like zero-touch provisioning, devices work perfectly out of the box without end user intervention. Remote fleet management, troubleshooting and automated software updates by Mason ensure security and positive end user experiences. Organizations of all sizes rely on Mason to bring innovations and hundreds of use cases to market without reinventing the wheel. Smarter from start to finish with Mason.™

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